For Google Science Fair finalist, the sound of rain switched on a light (video)

VANCOUVER -- Isaac Newton had his apple, for Raymond Wang it was the sound of rain hitting the roof that switched on a light in his mind.

“I was going to bed one night trying to think of a science project and I could hear the sound of rain hitting the roof and I thought, wait a minute,” Wang said.

The 14-year-old reasoned that if raindrops landing unleashed enough energy that he could hear the impact from a distance, then there must be a way to capture that energy.

The Grade 8 student at St. Georges School found the answer in a science magazine he had been flipping through in January of last year, in a story about a material that converts kinetic energy — movement — to electric current.

“After reading about piezoelectric materials, I thought why not incorporate that into a roof to directly collect that impact energy,” Wang explained.

Piezoelectricity is generated by certain crystalline materials when they are placed under mechanical stress. Such materials are usually used in delicate electronics and scientific instruments.

Wang used a sheet of piezoelectric plastic polyvinylidene fluoride to make a small roof about the size of a piece of letter-sized paper which he connected to a rectifier that he assembled from four diodes that converts the AC power generated to DC power that he could then store with a capacitor. You get all that?

In short, the stored electricity powers an LED light.

“When the rain hits the surface it causes mechanical stress which in turn translates into an alternating current,” said Wang, adding that wind and hail have the same effect.

He entered his idea in the Google Science Fair and has been named one of four Canadians among the 90 finalists worldwide and could earn a chance to present his idea at Google headquarters.

The next stage is a panel telephone interview with Google’s judges.

The top 15 Google Science Fair finalists, to be announced in June, will be flown to Google headquarters in California for a final round of judging. The grand prize winner will receive a 10-day trip to the Galápagos Islands with National Geographic Expeditions as well as the $50,000 Google Scholarship. Other finalists receive $25,000 scholarships and may receive a once-in-a-lifetime experience at Google’s research facility in Zurich, Switzerland, Lego headquarters in Billund, Denmark, or a week at the CERN nuclear research facility near Geneva, Switzerland.

Wang got the email informing him that Google had selected his project while travelling home from the Canada Wide Science Fair in Charlottetown, P.E.I., where he won a gold medal and $6,000 in cash and scholarships for another invention, a dynamically adapting mechanical knee brace that adjusts its support depending on the activity of the user.

The Charlottetown judges deemed his device — the Smart Knee Assistant — worthy of a patent.

“It is really amazing that a little inspiration with a little work and effort can get you a long way,” said Wang. “Everything begins with an idea, you just have to keep working on it.”

Suffice it to say that Wang’s brain has not stopped exploring the possibilities of piezoelectricity. His current model is just the latest of several steadily improving generations of the weather harvester, assembled after comparative testing of several candidate materials.

Wang’s real-world testing under snow, rain, hail and wind found that the tiny roof could generate 0.2 volts of power in as little as six seconds, depending on the type of weather it is exposed to and the intensity of the mechanical stress the weather creates. On average he hit the mark in about 30 seconds.

The roof on an ordinary house could be 1,000 times the size of Wang’s model, with a corresponding increase in potential energy.

“I think this can become a real product,” he said.

Wang believes that his technology will scale up to power home electronics or even as a companion technology to solar electric power, essentially a system that generates electricity no matter what the weather. It would even work at night.

“What could be done in the future is to incorporate into flexible solar cells my idea of a weather harvester using piezoelectric materials that would allow you to collect energy rain or shine,” he said.

With several years to go before high school graduation, Wang has plenty of time to consider career options, but science is at the top of the list. He says it is too soon decide even which university he might attend.

“I haven’t really decided what field of science to specialize in and certain universities are better in certain fields, so I’ll look into that in the future,” he said.

In addition to his pursuits in science, Wang is studying for his Associate of the Royal Conservatory diploma in piano, his Royal Conservatory of Music 10 repertoire in clarinet and is teaching himself the French horn.

“Music is what I do in my spare time to relax,” he said.

Wang also enjoys swimming, basketball and curling.

rshore@vancouversun.com

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For Google Science Fair finalist, the sound of rain switched on a light (video)

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